Today's Headlines and Commentary

The Republican Party’s national convention ended on Thursday after Donald J. Trump accepted the party’s nomination for president with a blistering address that painted a dystopian picture of the United States and its challenges at home and abroad. He excoriated the foreign policy record of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton as one of “death, destruction, terrorism, and weakness.” In foreign affairs, Trump pledged to fight for better trade deals, abandon the costly work of nation-building abroad, and wage a war against Islamic extremism.

NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg implicitly rebuked Trump after the Republican nominee told the New York Times on Wednesday that he would reconsider the United States’ commitment to the alliance. Trump said he would only defend NATO countries that had “fulfilled their obligation to us.” Yesterday, Stoltenberg said the alliance stressed solidarity among allies. The Washington Post also reports that European leaders responded to Trump’s remarks with “confusion and surprise.”

Admiral James Stavridis, a former Supreme Allied Commander at NATO and a contender for Hillary Clinton’s running mate, seized on Trump’s comments about the alliance. In a column for TIME Magazine, Stavridis expressed his belief that NATO remains America’s foremost alliance on the basis of its member states’ shared commitment to democracy, human rights, and liberty.

The European Union’s top foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn said they were “concerned” by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decision to declare a state of emergency following the failed coup attempt last week. Tens of thousands have been arrested or fired from their civil service posts in the past week, and Turkey has both suspended the European Convention on Human Rights and reinstated the death penalty. Germany’s foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier also urged Erdogan to maintain a sense of proportion in his response to the coup attempt.

Erdogan has jailed one third of Turkey’s military leadership as part of his efforts to consolidate power, including over 100 admirals and top generals and 9,000 soldiers. CNN’s Nic Robertson explains how this purge could upset Turkey’s military capabilities and consequently strengthen the Islamic State. And in a wide-ranging interview with the Washington Post, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper revealed that many of the Turkish officials removed in the last week had been "key interlocutors" for the United States.

Reuters reports that the United States has offered to set up a commission with Turkey to discuss whether Fethullah Gulen, a reclusive cleric based in Pennsylvania, should be extradited for his alleged role in instigating the coup. Turkey has repeatedly called for Gulen’s extradition even before the coup took place. Erdogan views Gulen—a former ally—as a “cancer” whose supporters have infiltrated the Turkish judiciary and military.

Despite the turbulence in Turkey, U.S.-backed Syrian groups have surrounded the city of Manbij, an important Islamic State post in northern Syria. The military council of the Syrian Democratic Forces issued a call to Islamic State fighters to evacuate the city in the next 48 hours before airstrikes resume. The ultimatum comes after a string of U.S. coalition airstrikes near Manbij killed dozens of civilians this week according to the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, a British-based watchdog. The Islamic State has been using civilians as human shields, a mark of the terrorist organization’s growing desperation as its defeats on the conventional battlefield pile up. Max Bearak laments in the Washington Post that the U.S. military has failed to provide more transparency regarding the efficacy and collateral damage of its airstrikes.

The BBC’s Feras Kilani documents life for the civilians escaping from Manbij and the U.S.-backed coalition’s ongoing fight against the Islamic State. Kilani, the first journalist to get inside Manbij since the battle began, records a brewing humanitarian crisis that has led many Syrians to claim off-camera that life was better under the Islamic State than their present circumstances.

Secretary of State John Kerry urged the global anti-ISIS coalition to share more intelligence in the wake of the Islamic State’s growing willingness to launch terrorist attacks outside of the Middle East. Speaking at a summit in Washington for roughly 40 foreign and defense ministers from nations in the U.S.-led coalition, Kerry said the Islamic State would remain a threat even as its so-called caliphate shrinks in Iraq and Syria, as the group is transitioning into a global terrorist organization. The goal for information sharing to reach a level such “that a border guard in southern Europe has the same data about a terrorist suspect as an airport security officer in Manila."

The Wall Street Journal reports that as Iraqi forces move closer towards seizing ISIS-held Mosul, tensions between the competing Iraqi political factions are rising to the surface. Politicians in Iraq are divided over who will participate in the final offensive and who should govern the city after the Islamic State is ejected. Any successful assault will likely require the help of a diverse range of forces, including Sunni tribal fighters, Shiite militias and the Kurdish Peshmerga.

The United Nations warns that the capture of Mosul could trigger the largest humanitarian crisis of the calendar year. Lisa Grande, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, warned that the impact of fighting “on civilians will be devastating,” adding that “Mass casualties among civilians are likely and families trying to flee are expected to be at extreme risk.” U.S. Special Presidential Envoy Brett McGurk said U.S. forces are already preparing to assist the Iraqi government in mitigating the humanitarian consequences of the campaign. The Journal has more.

Libyan forces said on Friday they have edged closer towards the center of the city of Sirte, which they are seeking to recapture from ISIS fighters. Fighting intensified last night as Islamic State snipers, suicide bombers, and mines slowed Libyan advances. Sirte is the so-called caliphate’s largest outlet outside of Syria or Iraq, and its loss would constitute a major blow for the organization.

According to the International Organization for Migration, nearly 3,000 refugees and migrants have died in the Mediterranean Sea so far this year, while almost 250,000 have reached Europe. The estimated death toll places 2016 on pace to be the deadliest year yet of the migration crisis, which began with Syria’s civil war five years ago.

At least one gunman has attacked a mall in Munich this afternoon, in what Reuters reports is “the third major act of violence against civilian targets to take place in Western Europe in eight days.” Details are scarce regarding the amount of victims killed or wounded, and it remains unclear whether multiple shooters were involved.

French authorities have determined that Mohammed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, who killed dozens in the attack in Nice on Bastille Day, had been planning the assault for months with the help of three other Frenchmen of Tunisian origin. Previously, the French media had reported Bouhlel—who was not on the radar of domestic or foreign intelligence agencies prior to the attack—may have been radicalized over the course of only a few weeks. The Times has more.

U.S. national security adviser Susan Rice said in an interview with Reuters that she will urge China to avoid escalation over the South China Sea when she travels to Beijing next week. Rice will be the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Beijing since China’s legal claims to the disputed waters were largely dismissed by an international tribunal. She also vowed that the U.S. military would continue to “sail and fly and operate” in the South China Sea despite Beijing’s warning that continued operation in the waters could end “in disaster.” Rice’s visit to China will also coincide with Secretary of State John Kerry’s meetings in Laos and the Philippines, where he is expected to stress America’s commitment to its regional partners.

In Foreign Affairs, Mira Rapp-Hooper proposes a blueprint for how both the United States and China can work together to uphold order in the region, despite China’s scant room to maneuver following the international tribunal's ruling.

Carol Rosenberg reports for the Miami Herald on the contentious start to yesterday’s pretrial hearing in the 9/11 case at Guantanamo Bay. Defendant Walid bin Attash, who has sought to represent himself in the case, was removed from the courtroom after objecting to the presence of his lawyers in court.

ICYMI: Yesterday, on Lawfare

Elizabeth McElvein updated us on the latest polls on national security and foreign policy in the ongoing 2016 presidential campaign.

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